The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-30

give place to heavier ones. grades must be less.
ened by deepening cuts and raising nils, ana
curves must be Strengthened by cutoffs. The
present standard of freight equipment. which is
becoming lowered by loose inspection and other
practices growing out of the interchange system,
must be elevated correspondingly with the pro-
posed increase of speed. or to something analo-
gous to the standard of passenger equipment
There is some uneasiness among the general
freight ag' nts who believe in carrying business
at paying at 3 lest the new law will not stop
rate-cutting. In fact it gives road which is
disposed to cut rates a better opportunity so to
do. For instance, should the Pennsylvania
Company decide at any time to make q reduction
in east-bound through rates without any noise
about 1t, they could prepare their tariff and send
1t in to the Interstate Commissioners te be filed,
and after ten days they could carry any business
they chose of the class the tariff il adjusted to-
and no one would be aware of it as, unless tho
shipper gave it away, or competing road has a
representative at Washington to examine the
tariff filed and SO learn that the rate Is cut it
would never be made public The commission
ers are not called upon to notify competitors
of the Pennsylvania lines that the latter was
cutting below the tariff of their competitors.
It is claimed that the new law forbids class
determinations and enjoins uniformity, and, In
carrying out its provisions it may be found
necessary to change forms of tickets as we'll as
| rates now in use. There are now in use some
twenty different styles of railway tickets, and
an effert is now making to bring about the
adoption Of one style Of ticket which will be as
a railway conductor went through a passenger
car fifty years ago he carried a box under his
arm into which he dropped the fare OF each
traveller it was collected. AS for tickets they
were almost An unknown quantity. The few
that were in use were for through passengers
only. They were very small and bore no agents
| stamp or date. The surprising growth of
| the railroad system Of the Eastern States
i hatxry <hA nd ad
| a marked change in the style of tickets
and heavy increase in the number issued
Local tickets. reading" as railroad men term
| 1t, between points only two or three miles apart
| became a necessary part of the railroad economy
of the day, as conductors were not, even then,
| proof against the temptation OF knocking
down" an occasional dollar. The system, how
ever, WAS still very crude. For instance, q pas
senger could not buy ticket from New York to
| Chicago. He had to leave the at Buffalo,
which was the end Of the first railroad limo on
his route, and purchase another ticket over the
| connecting road which ran as far as Cleveland.
where the traveller again went to the ticket win
dow to pay his fare to Toledo At Toledo he
bought his last ticket, which entitled him to
| passage to his destination. 1t was to General
Ticket Agent Marshall formerly of the Lake
! Shore railroad, that the idea of coupon tickets,
reading from point of departure to destination,
| first occurred.
One Effect of the Interstate Law
| FITTSBURG, Marcn GS.-Iu0 eutlro IOrco OL
clerks in tho transfer station of the Pennsylva-
MIA railroad in this city have been notified that
after the present months business was finished
their services would be no longer required
Nearly one hundred men, receiving salaries from
$50 to $125 per month, will be thrown out of
employment by the abandonment of the station
which is believed to be one of the FIRST visible
effects Of the passage of the interstate COM
merce bill. Heretofore all freight from either
the East Or West passing from the
main lice of the Pennsylvania railroad to
the main line Of the Pennsylvania Company
or vice versa, has been rebilled and transferred
in this city, but in the future all freight will b.
shipped through to its destination without any
transferring whatever. The interstate law viii
materially cut down the profit on short hauls
and it is to this fact, probably, that the presen
move il due, although the company has beer
contemplating either the removal or abandon
ment of the transfer station for some years past
1t is certain, however, that matters have beer
FASTENED by the passage OF the bill. Amonf
those who will DO thrown out of employment
are number Of Inen who have been in the en-
ploy of the railroad for a score of years and VIII,
have grown gray in the service.